by KT Webb
“I require something of you, for a ritual.”
“Oh? What might that be?”
Harper hoped she wasn’t about to ask him to give up his life as they had Sarafina. She squared her shoulders and plunged in. “I need the breath of Borrum, God of Winds.”
“Interesting. And what type of ritual are we performing?”
She raised an eyebrow. She couldn’t tell if he was patronizing her or if he was truly interested. Either way, she needed the breath, so she played along.
“My coven needs to perform an Awakening ceremony to bring me into my powers, before Ireland is attacked once more by the evil sorceress Carman and her sons.”
Thunder struck and shook the ground beneath Harper’s feet. She was certain she’d angered him until she realized the sound was caused by laughter. The cloud shook as he belly-laughed and tears of rain poured from his eyes.
“I’m sorry, did something I say amuse you?”
“Carman cannot harm Ireland. She is in the Shade. How is she going to do anything?” Borrum regained his composure and looked gravely into her eyes. “You know that once a soul is banished to the Shade it can never leave.”
Harper didn’t have an answer to that. “The Vate, Genovefa sent us on this quest. She has seen the danger we’re facing. I don’t know how, but Carman will be freed on Lughnasadh.”
“That cannot be. She cannot be allowed to poison our land again.”
Now she had his attention. “We need your help, or I cannot fight alongside the other witches.”
For a long time, Borrum said nothing. He stared at Harper as though processing the possibility of what she’d said. Just when she was about to lose hope, he sighed. As soon as the sigh escaped his mouth, his wispy hands swirl around the fog-like substance that still hung in the air. As his hands moved, a glowing white jar appeared, trapping the sigh inside. He stopped abruptly and held out a hand to Harper. The swirling breath he’d captured inside moved as though it had a life of its own.
“Do not release this until the moment it is needed.” He handed her the jar. “It was nice to meet you, daughter of Imbolc. Things are changing in this and the Otherworld. Change can be good, but this may not turn out as well as we would like. Do not let the sorceress free.”
“Harper! Wake up!” A hand slapped her cheek hard enough to leave a pulsing sting. It had to be Sutton.
“Is she okay? When was the last time she ate something?” Grace was clearly the mother hen.
“Harper? Can you hear me? Open your eyes,” Lucy said sternly.
Her eyes blinked rapidly against the indirect sunlight visible through the clouds. Clouds. Borrum. Harper sat up straight, aware of an object gripped in her hands. She held the jar aloft so the girls could see the wispy breath caught within.
Sutton
Chapter Twenty-Five
Within the Stone
“Is that what I think it is?” Sutton demanded.
Harper nodded weakly and offered the jar to Sutton.
“What happened to you?”
The red-head smiled at Lucy in response. Her pale forehead gleamed with sweat despite the chill in the air. Sutton wondered if the youngest witch was ill. She seemed reluctant to answer when questioned about why she passed out.
“Harper, seriously. Are you okay?”
“Guys! I’m fine. I just. . . don’t like heights.” She dipped her head to avoid eye contact.
“So, you pass out and get an audience with an elusive wind god?” Sutton was skeptical.
She shrugged. “Apparently. He thought it was funny that I passed out.”
“Wait, did giving this to you. . . kill him?” Fear was all over Grace’s face.
“No! He was reluctant at first and laughed at me when I told him why we needed to do the Awakening. It wasn’t until I told him that Genovefa saw it that his demeanor changed. That was when he made the jar and gave me his breath.”
“I guess that leaves one thing. Let’s get out of here before Harper croaks.”
Another portal later and they were standing near the Hill of Tara. The sun was high in the sky and tourists wandered around the grounds. Each time she’d created a portal before, they’d arrived in an area that concealed them from view. . . but this time they arrived smack dab in the middle of a crowd of tourists.
“Well, crap,” Harper mumbled.
It only took a moment before the panic set in and people began screaming and running. Sutton sighed. Nothing like starting a witch hunt in the heart of Ireland. Once the area had completely cleared, the girls exchanged a look that caused Sutton to burst out laughing.
“I guess that’s one way to make sure we’re alone to find the stone.” Lucy giggled.
They approached the weather-worn cylindrical stone. Sutton noticed the shadow it cast and wondered if it had once been used as a sundial before the wind and rain beat against it and smoothed it down. It was huge, way too big for them to take with them to perform a ritual.
“So, are we supposed to do this here?” Harper asked, sizing up the pillar in front of them.
Rectangular stones were arranged around the base of the standing relic like a whitewashed yellow brick road. It was clear that the stone was rooted deep in the ground; there was no way they would be removing it from its current location. The girls positioned themselves in a square around the Stone of Destiny. Maybe if they combined their magic they could move it.
“Do you feel that?” Grace whispered.
Sutton waited to feel something, anything. The only thing she felt was frustration at the enormity of the situation they were facing. They were on a deadline; Lughnasadh was just over two weeks away. Grace stepped closer to the weathered stone and placed her palm against it.
“No, seriously guys. You need to feel this.” Grace gestured for them to follow her lead.
Sutton placed her hand against the cool, rough surface. At first, she felt nothing, then her body began to vibrate with a low, constant rumble. Her eyes widened as she seemed to zoom past herself and into the stone itself.
If someone were to ask what she’d seen within the stone, she wouldn’t have been able to describe it properly. The land was clean and fresh, untouched by humanity. Castle walls built up around them, and the stone they touched began to fill out and change. It became a large, imposing throne. The detail carved into the enormous chair could only have been done by magic. A green velvety pillow rested on the seat and atop it rested a large diamond ring. Sutton and her friends stepped away from the throne and watched as a young man approached.
He reached out to take the ring and a glorious sound filled the air. A gentle hum, like that of a thousand voices singing in harmony, echoed off the walls and vaulted ceiling. Once the ring was firmly on his finger, a crown was gently placed on his head and he took his place on the throne. They watched as the scene repeated itself with king after king, ending in an absence felt by the throne itself. Walls crumbled around them and the elements took charge. The ring sat untouched upon the stone chair until it became entombed within the weathered sedimentary column that the girls now stood touching.
“It’s inside.” Lucy was just as dazed as she was.
The girls pulled their hands away in unison. The Stone of Destiny wasn’t the massive remnant in front of them, it was affixed to a ring that had once been worn by the true King of Ireland. Years of war and neglect had laid waste to the castle and caused the throne to erode. Now, as they stood facing that throne a new question arose in Sutton’s mind. How were they supposed to remove the stone without damaging the symbolic artifact that once held a long line of kings?
Ooghna had been so quiet since her game of charades before they went to the mountain, but she seemed to pipe up whenever she thought the girls were missing the obvious. The fairy detangled herself from Harper’s red curls and flew to rest on the remnants of the throne. She held out her hands as though she wanted a hug, then clasped her hands together. Her little chirps were completely foreign to everyone but Grace. Somehow, t
he raven-haired girl understood the fairy without question.
“She says we’re supposed to hold hands around the stone.”
“Oh, yeah? Then what? We sing a song and skip in a circle?” Harper’s snark seemed to grow stronger when she was irritated.
“No, she says we hold hands and let the magic flow through us.” Grace had relayed her message, so Ooghna reclaimed her spot in Harper’s hair.
Sutton shrugged and reached her hands out to Lucy and Harper. They in turn took Grace’s hands, completing the circle. As soon as their hands were joined, Sutton felt a current ripple through her body and move on to the next girl, until it came back to her once more. She closed her eyes and waited. Within seconds, the familiar sound of harmonious voices filled the air. Sutton opened her eyes to see blue light streaming from her, purple from Lucy, green from Grace and yellow from Harper. The magic met in the middle and left an opening in the rounded stone. Sutton hesitated for just a moment before she reached in and took the ring.
It wasn’t as heavy as she’d anticipated, but the multi-faceted diamond caught the light and sent colorful fractals dancing along the ground. She looked up at her friends, surprised to see the looks of horror on their faces. The applause that erupted behind her told her everything she needed to know. While they’d been focused on the journey within the stone, tourists had trickled in behind them. They clearly thought they’d just witnessed some sort of magic trick.
“Thank you, thank you! We appreciate your applause. We’ve been working on that one for quite some time. Enjoy your day at the Hill of Tara.” Harper bowed and waved to the crowd.
The other girls followed her lead and offered a few waves and bows before skirting away. The crowd expressed their disappointment when the girls refused to pose for pictures or perform further tricks. Sutton led the way around the hill until they found a less-traveled area. They ended up in front of a gate covering an opening in the low mound. They’d already risked exposure twice; they couldn’t pull a disappearing act in front of the tourists too. She created a portal to Idir but closed it before anyone walked through.
“Where do we want to go? I don’t think we should return to Idir after the way the Druids treated us, but it’s the only place I can think of.”
She was met with blank stares. Obviously, her friends had no idea what to do next either. Sutton sank down to the grass and wrapped her arms around her legs. It wasn’t long before the other girls had joined her on the ground. They were tired, they were alone in a foreign country, and they had nowhere to go. The silence was broken by a gurgling sound that rose to a crescendo in Lucy’s stomach.
“You know sounds really good?” Lucy nudged her foot. “Pizza!”
Sutton grinned and waved her hand as she prepared to conjure a piping hot pizza with extra cheese. But, she stopped when a thought occurred to her. All four of the witches were supposed to be very powerful, why couldn’t the others do everything she could? She knew they were automatically looking to her because she was the first to get her powers and the oldest of the coven. But she knew the most important part of being in a coven was being able to trust her fellow witches.
“How about you try it this time?” Sutton gave Lucy an encouraging smile.
Lucy blinked slowly before furrowing her brow in determination. She moved one hand over the other and the air was filled with the delicious scent of freshly baked pizza, just like that. Grace decided to try her hand at conjuring their drinks. Soon, they were all enjoying slices of chicken alfredo pizza and drinking ice-cold pop. Sutton noticed that Harper hadn’t said anything since they began eating despite the conversation the others were carrying on.
“What’s up with you, Harper?”
The other girl shrugged. “I’m fine. Just thinking about magic. I mean, what does it feel like? I know I’ve used it based on what happened when the fairies attacked and the thing with the Stone of Destiny, but I only felt a tiny spark.”
“It feels like a constant connection to the Earth. Not just gravity, but an actual connection to the magic of every living thing,” Grace said as she stared at the pizza in her hand.
“I never really thought of it like that, but you’re right. Almost like a tether. It hums and vibrates,” Lucy replied, a hand covering her mouth as she concealed the half-chewed pizza she’d stuffed in her cheek.
“Are you scared?” Sutton questioned.
Harper nodded. “A little, yeah.”
“Don’t be. We’re here for you. We’ve got everything we need to do the Awakening. Do you want to pick where we do it?” Sutton wondered if she would be able to choose a location.
She watched the other girl as she chewed the bite she’d just taken. It was strange to her that she’d gotten to know the others so well through their adventures. Sutton could sense their apprehension, she could feel their concern over the uncertainty of the future. Harper swallowed her food and took a drink of her lemon-lime soda.
“What about Tobernalt?”
Of course, the birthplace of the first coven would be the perfect setting for the Awakening. They didn’t need words to express their agreement. Grace pulled out the grimoire and turned to the page that told them how to perform the Awakening ritual. They had all the components they needed, the next step was to determine the ideal time. Magic was finicky like that; the timing was just as important as the ingredients used to perform it.
“It says we need to do it at night under a new moon,” Grace read.
Harper whipped out her phone and typed furiously for a few moments. “That’s tomorrow night.”
The timing was perfect. The girls were ready, and the sons of Carman had no idea what was coming for them.
Lucy
Chapter Twenty-Six
A Heavy Burden
Lucy hadn’t perfected portals yet, but the one she made did the trick. They just needed to end up far away from anyone who may happen upon them. She’d managed that at least, and the girls worked together to conjure a tent that was much bigger on the inside. Harper cracked jokes about the Tardis, and camping with the Weasley’s. Lucy couldn’t help but love her nerdiness; it was endearing.
With the tent set up, it was time to get some rest. Anyone who happened by would see a simple pup tent and would have no idea what was truly inside. Lucy decided her favorite thing about being a witch was being able to create new clothes out of thin air. She pulled on the sweatshirt and pajama pants that were now laying on her bed. Inside the tent, they’d created a room much like the one they’d shared briefly at Idir.
As soon as they were showered and changed, the girls gathered around a magical fire conjured by Grace. It provided heat and gave off light, but didn’t produce any smoke that would alert anyone to their presence. Lucy stared listlessly at the crackling flames. No matter what they did, it still seemed like a dream; she wasn’t sure she wanted to wake if it was. Sutton yawned and leaned back on the blanket she was using for a little comfort on the cool grass.
“I’m tempted to sleep out here tonight. Just look at the stars.”
Lucy followed her lead and leaned back too. She pulled her hood up over her chestnut tresses and lie all the way back. Sutton was right, the stars were bright and the tiny sliver she could see of the moon was clearer than she’d ever seen.
“Hey guys?” Grace’s voice sounded a bit freaked out. “Remember how St. Patrick drove all the snakes from Ireland?”
“That’s the legend,” Sutton replied.
“I think he missed one.”
Just like that, they went from powerful witches to screaming teenage girls running in a panic to escape a snake. Once they were safely inside the tent, Lucy and Sutton sealed the entrance to make sure they were the only ones coming in and out. A shiver ran down her spine as she thought about sharing a bed with a snake. Grace disappeared to take another shower, undoubtedly unable to forget the slither of a cold-bodied reptile. Lucy didn’t envy her at all.
Harper grabbed her phone and disappeared to call her mom. Lucy decid
ed it was high time she called Mallory. After all, Lucy wasn’t a missing person, there was no reason why she couldn’t call. A cell phone appeared in her hand and she quickly dialed the number she knew by heart. It rang once, twice, three times before someone picked up on the other end.
“Hello? Lucy?”
Her chest constricted at the panicked sound in Mallory’s voice. Why hadn’t she called sooner?”
“Aunt Mal? It’s me. I just wanted to hear your voice.”
“Aw kiddo, I’ve missed you so much. Are you okay?”
A tear threatened to escape her eye as she answered in the most honest way she could. “I don’t really know. Physically, yes. Emotionally is another story.”
“I’m sorry. Did you find the other girls you were looking for?”
